Partnering with the industry’s best affiliate networks is more sensible than signing up with a single affiliate program. The latter limits your income-generating potential by restricting the promoted products to the items the affiliate program covers.
That’s not happening in an affiliate network. With thousands of merchants under a single platform, your chances of earning increase exponentially. Joining is also a one-time affair. You will use your affiliate network account credentials to sign up with new brands and programs.
So, which affiliate network should you join in 2024? Relax and read on.
What is an Affiliate Network?
Affiliate networks are identical to in-house programs, except they are intermediaries or bridges between merchants or brands and affiliates or publishers. It’s like a marketplace where businesses meet vetted affiliates to promote products and services to target audiences.
Another way to look at an affiliate network is a marketplace of thousands of affiliate programs in a single platform.
It’s a win-win solution for advertisers (brands) and publishers (affiliates). Businesses never worry about the intricacies and constraints of mounting an affiliate program. Meanwhile, publishers and affiliates can ensure a steady passive income without tying themselves to a single brand.
12 Best Affiliate Networks for 2024: Let’s Earn Money!
ClickBank
Established in 1998, ClickBank is one of the industry’s best-performing platforms for affiliate marketing. It entered the scene about the same time as Commission Junction or CJ, two years after Amazon Associates and Rakuten.
Although ClickBank isn’t the world’s biggest affiliate network, this platform has the trust of over 117,000 affiliates.
And you would, too. Why?
ClickBank has one of the most generous compensation schemes. Platinum affiliates enjoy over a quarter of a million dollars annually, while Diamond affiliates bask in at least $5 million in annual paychecks. Beginner affiliate marketers can also enjoy up to $25,000 yearly.
But that’s not all.
ClickBank also encourages affiliates to communicate with individual merchants. They can ask for a CPA commission, ranging from $20 to $300 per validated referral action. Or the CPA could be higher.
This affiliate network platform observes three commission models – cost-per-lead, cost-per-click, and cost-per-sale. You will have more chances of earning big time!
You could be a content publisher, performance affiliate, social media influencer, email marketer, or community manager. ClickBank will take you under its wings.
Affiliates will love ClickBank’s tech integrations, Spark resources, exceptional tracking, reliable payments, and a dedicated support team.
Undoubtedly, ClickBank has your back if you want to be successful in this field.
- Commission: Up to 75%, with merchant-dependent CPA commission
- Cookie Window: 60 days
AWIN
AWIN’s partnership with about 25,000 of the world’s most trusted brands is commendable. It’s the perfect platform for shopping, retail, fashion, finance, telecom, insurance, and travel niches. Besides affiliates, AWIN offers solutions for agencies (merchants) and advertisers.
Although sellers on AWIN are fewer than on Amazon or ClickBank, the wide variety of product offerings allows you to earn more this year.
Like other affiliate marketing networks, your commissions depend on the partner merchant. Some brands pay a fixed rate, while most sellers share a percentage of each verified sale to affiliates. Unsurprisingly, seasoned bloggers, influencers, and publishers can earn up to $50,000 monthly.
Unfortunately, AWIN’s payment method needs consideration. This platform only pays affiliates through ACH, BACS, or wire transfer. It doesn’t pay via PayPal, check, or other options.
Still, you will be glad about AWIN’s twice-monthly payment (every 15th and 30th). It might not be as frequent as FlexOffers’ NET 7 feature. However, it remains more significant than other platforms’ monthly payouts.
Moreover, AWIN’s industry-leading affiliate marketing technologies make affiliates feel more confident about their campaigns.
- Commission: 2% to 10% or fixed rate depending on merchant
- Cookie Window: 30 days
eBay Partner Network
eBay entered the global e-commerce scene in 1995. However, it would take about 13 years before the platform introduced its affiliate network, calling marketers affiliate partners.
Nevertheless, eBay blasts other affiliate marketing programs with its sheer size. Over 18 million merchants sell high-quality offerings on the platform. That’s about twice as many sellers on Amazon (with 9.7 million).
Our only gripe about eBay is its ultra-short 24-hour cookie window. Like Amazon Associates, monetizing an affiliate link is short-lived. Your convincing prowess will be at the forefront of getting referrals to buy a product.
Still, eBay’s vast range of offerings means you will never run dry of promotional and money-making opportunities. This platform has over 1.9 billion active listings. Hence, millions of opportunities await even if the potential customer is slow to click the product link.
eBay also has affiliate marketing resources to ensure an effective campaign. You could build ads, develop strategies, drive traffic, track affiliate marketing performance, and maximize outcomes in a single platform.
Now, that’s worth joining.
- Commission: 1% to 4%, depending on product
- Cookie Window: 24 hours
CJ Affiliate
Founded at the same time as ClickBank, CJ Affiliate is one of the world’s most trusted platforms for affiliates. ValueClick acquired the network in 2003. Although ValueClick rebranded the program as CJAffiliate by Conversant, most marketers and merchants still call it CJ.
Although this affiliate network platform only has about 3,000 merchants, it’s home to more popular brands than other networks. Nike, Barnes & Noble, CNN, Costco, BOSE, Expedia, Office Depot, Hertz, GoDaddy, GNC, Verizon, and TripAdvisor are notable brand partners.
Earning an affiliate income with these brands should be a breeze. Almost everyone worldwide recognizes these names. Promoting their products shouldn’t be challenging.
But why should you join CJA, not other affiliate programs?
An advantage of CJA is impeccable real-time tracking and reporting. There’s a negligible lag between digital activities and reporting. You can monitor everything on the platform’s stellar affiliate dashboard without refreshing or relaunching the page.
The commission scheme and cookie duration are more generous, too. Although merchants dictate the cookie window, the 45-day average is longer than the 30-day industry standard.
Payment is more convenient than other networks. CJA offers Payoneer, check, and direct deposit.
- Commission: 3% to 50%, depending on merchant and product
- Cookie Window: 1 to 120 days (average 45 days), depending on merchant
FlexOffers
FlexOffers entered the affiliate marketing scene a decade after ClickBank and CJA. Despite its late entry, the platform blasts other affiliate networks for its CPA model. This strategy empowers publishers to gain more for their affiliate marketing efforts.
Over 10,000 brands partner with FlexOffers. Among the notable merchants on this platform are Samsung, Macy’s, Lowe’s, Kohl’s, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Wayfair, and Nike.
These businesses offer affiliates more chances of writing a fat paycheck. Affiliates also enjoy robust affiliate marketing technologies (i.e., APIs, product feeds, real-time reporting, special offer feeds, and more).
We are a bit curious about FlexOffers’ commission rates and payouts. Publisher compensation varies across advertisers or brands. Interestingly, this platform classifies its affiliates into three, receiving payouts in NET 60, NET 30, or NET 7 tiers.
We can only assume the number represents the days between payments. Hence, high-performing affiliates on NET 7 can receive a weekly payout.
That’s sufficient motivation to design innovative and high-converting affiliate sales & marketing campaigns.
- Commission: Revealed once accepted
- Cookie Window: Depends on merchant, averages 30 days
ShareASale
ShareASale is one of the industry’s best affiliate networks. It has over 270 thousand publishers or affiliates promoting a wide range of high-quality products from about 25,000 brands or merchants.
Brian Littleton founded ShareASale in 2000 as an alternative to erstwhile industry leaders Amazon, Rakuten, ClickBank, and CJA. Today, it’s a household name among affiliates wanting to monetize their online exploits.
Why should you consider this platform?
ShareASale introduces at least 260 new affiliate programs monthly. Hence, a new brand or product launch occurs every 3.5 hours. That opens more money-making opportunities.
The platform has innovative product discovery bookmarklets and content tools to maximize affiliate marketing campaigns. You can discover and explore new brands and products daily.
ShareASale’s affiliate commissions vary across brands. Some might offer a measly 4%, while others are more generous. You might want to examine each program and pick the most lucrative or sensible offer.
- Commission: 4% to 50% (or higher), depending on brand
- Cookie Window: 30 days
Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten Advertising deserves a slot in this list. After all, this popular affiliate network has been wowing merchants and affiliates for over a quarter of a century.
Founded in 1996, Rakuten is a stalwart, an industry pioneer. And it’s still growing strong. That’s enough reason to consider this network in your shortlist.
Although Rakuten’s brand partnerships are less than other platforms’ merchant networks, you’ll appreciate that 19 in 20 merchants are exclusive brands. You’ll never worry about promoting these affiliate products. Most of your audiences are familiar with these brands.
So, what do you get when accepted into the network?
You’ll enjoy Rakuten’s award-winning publisher strategists, affiliate marketing account teams, and data scientists. Growing your online business is never an issue with these specialists supporting your campaigns.
Unfortunately, some affiliates might consider Rakuten’s publisher compensation package less appealing. But hey! These are exclusive brands. The 24-hour cookie window is also a bummer (like Amazon Associates and eBay Partner Network).
Still, its exclusive brands access, award-winning support, and industry-leading technological solutions make Rakuten a favorite among affiliates.
- Commission: 3% to 7%
- Cookie Window: 24 hours
Impact
Here’s another industry giant with dependable brand and affiliate partnerships. With the right campaign, you could ensure higher conversion rates with Impact’s science & technology-centric affiliate marketing approach.
Impact has several awards under its belt. For example, this platform won the PerformanceIN/Talking Influence Awards a record 34 times and the G2 Best Software Awards 27 times.
The support you’ll receive is top-notch. After all, Impact prides itself on performance-driven affiliate support teams and marketing specialists. Mounting an effective campaign should be a cinch.
You will promote recognizable brands, including Forbes, Adidas, USA Today, Levi’s, L’Oreal, Uber, Walmart, Allstate, Lenovo, and HSBC. You can develop and nurture long-term partnerships with these brands, ensuring a more vibrant financial future.
Although the commission is lower than other affiliate platforms, Impact offers worldwide payout availability. You can expect the payment straight to your bank account, PayPal, or BACS.
And get this. Impact pays you in your local currency.
So, join today and get a custom link to embark on a financially rewarding journey.
- Commission: 3% per verified sale
- Cookie Window: 45 days
MaxBounty
All affiliates want their campaigns to produce higher conversion percentages. They are happy when all referrals buy a digital or physical product or complete a lead-generating action. Who wouldn’t?
That’s the MaxBounty promise!
Although MaxBounty isn’t as popular as other platforms, it remains a worthy choice for affiliates and publishers who want higher conversions and returns for their online marketing efforts.
Established in 2004, MaxBounty specializes in performance marketing strategies. These solutions empower publishers and affiliates to maximize their monetization adventures.
Some aspiring affiliates might consider MaxBounty’s 5% commission less appealing than competing platforms. However, this network also gives successful affiliates additional payouts, rewards, and bonuses. Writing a five-figure annual paycheck should be easy.
Surprisingly, MaxBounty is like FlexOffers in its payout structure. Its advantage? This platform offers weekly payment regardless of your performance (FlexOffers grants the NET 7 scheme only to top-performing affiliates). You only need to receive the initial monthly payout once. The rest is a weekly payout.
Sadly, MaxBounty requires a $100 balance in your affiliate account before they can pay you.
On the bright side, MaxBounty doesn’t limit its payment options to the usual PayPal, deposit, and check. It has Payoneer, Tipalti, eCheck, and Intercash, too.
- Commission: 5%
- Cookie Window: Revealed once accepted
Avangate Affiliate Network
If MaxBounty positions itself as a high-converting platform, Avangate Affiliate Network has a different strategy. And we believe its promise of high-paying programs looks more enticing to affiliates.
Established two years after MaxBounty, Avangate has slowly carved a reputation for partnering with high-paying affiliate programs. How does a 75% commission sound? Of course, this figure is the maximum. Still, the compensation package is the most generous on our list.
Unfortunately, Avangate isn’t for everyone. Although it offers an extensive range of products, these are software or computer programs. Hence, this platform isn’t for affiliates specializing in physical items.
Still, affiliating with Avangate makes sense. It offers exceptional deep-linking to direct your referrals straight to the product’s checkout page. Avangate also has geo-targeted digital shopping carts to boost conversions in new niches. Converting leads is more efficient.
Tracking your campaign performance is also a breeze. Avangate offers a comprehensive report of clicks, conversions, refunds, earnings per click, and overall sales. Data feeds are instantaneous. You can lessen your workload with timely information.
Affiliate support is commendable, too. You’ll never feel alone in your quest for financial independence through affiliate marketing.
- Commission: Up to 75% single-tier
- Cookie Window: Revealed once accepted
affiiaXe
Tel-Aviv, Israel-based affiliaXe is a reliable affiliate network delivering exciting offers, exceptional customer services, and competitive payouts.
So, what’s the platform’s secret?
affiliaXe is a made-by-veteran-marketers-for-aspiring-affiliates performance marketing platform. The network’s creators have your best interests at heart. They’ve been in your shoes. These marketers have the blueprint to ensure affiliate success.
Joining affiliaXe’s 31,000+ active publishers brings many benefits.
You can drive traffic from multiple sources, including flash ads, banners, pay-per-views, search (PPC and SEO), email marketing, social media platforms, and mobile marketing. Affiliates can also focus on incentivized marketing programs.
Affiliates can promote various offerings across multiple verticals. Examples include mobile apps, health & beauty, memberships, automotive, casual dating, education, retail, travel & tourism, and insurance.
This platform also assigns an affiliate manager to guide and support you in your campaigns. This expert supervises your payouts and analyzes conversions before recommending tweaks in your affiliate marketing strategies. Moreover, the AM connects you with the platform’s best offers.
You’ll need at least $100 in your balance to ask for a payout. affiliaXe pays affiliates twice monthly via PayPal, wire transfer, ACH, Tipalti, and Payoneer.
- Commission: 4% for 1st six months
- Cookie Window: Revealed once accepted
GiddyUp
A successful affiliate marketer requires a trustworthy partner. With an A+ rating on Better Business Bureau and voted as one of Inc. 500’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, GiddyUp presents its case as a dependable affiliate platform.
Established in 2013, GiddyUp is a greenhorn among giants. However, its exclusive product offerings, real-time reporting, and high ROI guarantees make GiddyUp an influential force in the industry.
This platform is perfect for beginner affiliates. Its 150+ product offerings are less confusing to promote than other networks with thousands of products. You’ll get headaches sifting through such collections.
Don’t worry about GiddyUp’s commission. After all, this network already paid affiliates over $375 million since 2013. Additionally, its brand partnerships produced over a billion dollars in sales.
GiddyUp offers affiliates a dedicated affiliate manager for optimum affiliate marketing support and guidance. Their intimate product knowledge and invaluable experiences can provide insights on how to smash an affiliate marketing campaign.
Picking products to promote and generate commissions is easy. GiddyUp also helps you create high-converting sales funnels. It can boost profitability. An extensive creative library is available, while GiddyUp’s robust tracking and real-time reporting ensure sounder decisions.
So, give GiddyUp a try this year.
- Commission: 5% to 20% single-tier
- Cookie Window: 60 days
How Do Affiliate Networks Work?
Affiliate networks work online venues where merchants or advertisers meet publishers or affiliates. The former has physical and digital products, which the latter must promote to target audiences in their channels.
Hence, networks have thousands of brand partnerships. For example, ClickBank has over 100,000 merchants, while eBay has over 18 million. The more companies an affiliate network has, the more opportunities there are for affiliates and publishers to earn a commission for each affiliate sale or lead.
Affiliate platforms or networks have the resources to manage multiple affiliate marketing campaigns. These companies have tracking tools, data analytics solutions, affiliate attribution systems, creative libraries, user dashboards, affiliate management support teams, and other resources.
Businesses will never worry about these things. They only pay the network or platform a fee for every commissionable action affiliates produce. The rates vary depending on the network.
On the other hand, affiliates sign up with affiliate platforms. They can partner with different brands or merchants within the network. It gives them the chance to boost their earning potential.
What to Consider When Choosing the Best Affiliate Networks?
Platform Reputation
The best affiliate network has exceptional credibility and an unblemished industry track record.
First, check its history. When and where was the network established? Did it encounter issues in its growth, suggesting unworthiness of trust? How did the platform handle problems?
Second, use brand trustworthiness rating scores to determine the affiliate network’s credibility. For example, does it have a near-perfect TrustPilot score? How about a Better Business Bureau certification?
Third, check the network’s brand partnerships. Recognizable brands never partner with shady affiliate networks. Doing so tarnishes the brand’s reputation.
Product Availability and Quality
You will want an affiliate network with many merchants or brands offering a wide range of products in your chosen niche. Although most platforms have physical items to promote, others might specialize in digital solutions.
Identify the products you want to promote or publish in your channel. Evaluate these items personally and make the appropriate recommendations. We hope you will try the products yourself instead of relying on user reviews to create more convincing content.
Commission and Payment Structure
Study the affiliate network’s commission scheme. Most programs offer a percentage commission, while others are more open to revenue sharing. Some platforms also give a flat rate for every verified referral action.
Consider other income-related concerns, such as payout threshold and payment options. Ideally, you’ll want a platform without minimum withdrawal limits and multiple payment methods.
Affiliate Support
Analyze the affiliate network’s support resources. Does it have creative libraries, promotional tools, and affiliate marketing tracking solutions? How accurate and timely are its reports?
The best networks have affiliate managers and teams supporting and guiding publishers and affiliates’ money-making journeys. You’ll want to check if the potential affiliate network can support your affiliate marketing growth and success.
FAQs
What is the world’s largest affiliate network?
Excluding Amazon Associates and its 900,000+ affiliates (plus 9.7 million merchants), the world’s largest affiliate network is ShareASale, with over 270,000 active publishers promoting over 25,000 brands. Meanwhile, eBay Partner Network is the largest affiliate network regarding merchants, with about 18 million sellers.
Which is the best network for affiliate marketing?
ClickBank wins our hearts as the best network for affiliate marketing. Its trustworthiness is high (since 1998), and its affiliate support system is impeccable. Affiliates also appreciate its generous commissions and above-average cookie window. Of course, others might pick ShareASale, Impact, Rakuten, eBay, and the other affiliate networks we featured.
Conclusion
Signing up with credible affiliate networks is like partnering with thousands of niche-related brands. The beauty here is you’ll only need to apply and join once. The affiliate platform offers many money-making ventures within a niche. It also enables you to discover new market opportunities.
Despite these advantages, you might want to be choosy with affiliate networks. Please don’t focus only on the compensation package. Instead, you will want a long-lasting partnership that will give you a stable source of wealth for many years.
